What is your current field of research?
My research is situated in the sub-field of critical mathematics education and seeks to serve Black (including Sub-Saharan Africans) youth in educational contexts. I do this within mathematics education where I explore ways to ensure that Black youth thrive in their mathematics learning. In other words, I question the role of space, place, power, identity, and other sociocultural and sociopolitical factors that might impede learning for Black youth. I also consider how mathematics can be harnessed as a space to discuss issues of (in)justice and African Indigenous Knowledges in mathematics. Guiding my work are decolonial theories, Black studies, Black geography alongside critical and participatory methodologies to ensure an ethic of care and reciprocity in my work.

More recently, I have been thinking about the role visual media (tv shows and movies) plays on (mis)representing Black youth’s capabilities in mathematics. Contrast this to the 80s sitcom, A Different World, which showed the ordinariness of a young Black man (Dwayne) who loved mathematics – a type of Black livingness as Katherine McKittrick would name it. I am grateful for the chance to pursue this line of questioning currently through the 91ŃÇÉ« Black Seed Grant I was awarded in 2022.

What inspired you to specialize in this line of research?
I have loved and enjoyed mathematics for a very long time. I moved to the United States in 2002 to pursue my undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics and began noticing the low numbers of Black students in my courses. The numbers continued to be subside through my Masters and PhD programs and the subtle or overtly racist comments I experienced. If my memory serves me right, I was the second Black woman to graduate from my masters program in Applied Mathematics (2009) and the first Black woman to graduate from my PhD program in mathematics education (2020). I do not believe I have exceptional abilities in mathematics, but I grew up in a country that was racially homogenous thus, my race was not a factor in determining who belonged in mathematics (though my gender identification definitely mattered in Nigeria). I deeply love Black youth and want to support them through my research and other avenues by reminding them that they matter and that they belong in mathematics (and any other space of their choosing).

What impact do you want your work to have on society?
I dream of a world where Black (and other racialized) youth are given opportunities to learn rich and meaningful mathematics instead of being counted out. I hope my work normalizes the ordinariness of Black youth doing mathematics and hope to be able to cultivate spaces that allows them to be their whole selves in mathematics.

What do you consider to be your biggest research accomplishment so far?
I am really thrilled that I have managed to publish pieces that draw on fictional novels (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah, Nnedi Binti, Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing), movies (Zootopia), and most recently, song (Burna Boy’s Monsters You Made). I have somehow found ways to merge my love for the arts in and out of mathematics education which fills me with great pride. As an aside, I co-wrote the Zootopia piece in 2017 as a graduate student and it has remained on the “most read” list since its publication which blows my mind.

What advice would you give to your 21-year old self?
Enjoy the zigzag of your life. The multitude of experiences you are amassing living in different cities and countries will shape your thinking and make your research agenda more purposeful and robust.

What would students be surprised to know about you?
I am an avid reader of books unrelated to my research or teaching. Since 2020 (aka since I stopped being a student), I have read an average of 30 books (I read 66 in 2021!). I also enjoy taking long walks, watching all types of TV shows (including Top Chef, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Abbott Elementary), and am quite obsessed with award season (I save the major tv and movie award dates on my calendar yearly).

The post Get to know our faculty: Molade Osibodu appeared first on Faculty of Education.

Oyemolade Osibodu, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at 91ŃÇÉ«, conducted a pilot study to help her understand the mathematics experiences of Black youth in Greater Toronto Area (GTA) high schools and the results confirmed a lack of diversity in mathematics educators.

Growing up Black in Nigeria, race was never an issue at school for , an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education. If she had to prove herself occasionally, it was likely because of gender. However, her experience teaching in North America has shown her that Black youth have a very different experience, particularly in mathematics.

This year, Osibodu, whose specialty is math education, conducted a pilot study to help her understand the mathematics experiences of Black youth in GTA high schools.

“Math is not a neutral enterprise,” Osibodu said, “and it’s not just about these Black students learning math. I focused on the sociocultural and sociopolitical experience, looking at the extra layer it adds to the enterprise and what effect that has.

“The Black community in the GTA is very heterogeneous and many of the students are first-generation Canadians. I looked to see what research existed in the Canadian context unlike the United States, but I found no qualitative studies about Black youth as related to mathematics. It needs to be done and it mattered to me.”

Osibodu selected eight high school students from schools in Toronto, Durham Region and 91ŃÇÉ« Region for her qualitative study and explored their high school math experiences. More than half of them loved math and were successful with it, but Osibodu wanted to see what other factors were at play.

“Many of them felt that other students were surprised to see them in academic math classes and succeeding with the work,” she said. “I don’t know how we fix this.”

Even in the diverse Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the student was one of the few Black or mixed-race students on the academic track at her school and felt the pressure to prove she belonged.

“One other thing was clear,” said Osibodu. “Of the eight students, none had ever had a Black math teacher and only the TDSB student had had Black teachers in any subject.”

To understand the Black experience more thoroughly, Osibodu has applied for a three-year grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to do a larger longitudinal study following students in Grades 9, 10 and 11 to try to understand the impact of race and power on Black learners and how different experiences shape their math identities.

“My work will combine math with social justice,” she said. “I want to use math as an avenue to talk about social issues, though the students I spoke with weren’t sure it was possible. Many math classes are still very quiet; the teacher asks questions and the students answer. But they were all keen to see what it could look like.”

Osibodu knows there is a way to insert context into math – in looking at housing prices, the inequity in loan approvals and the financial impacts of gentrification, for example.

The project is designed to run throughout the year and would include “interesting math activities” in the summer, giving the students “a space where we talk, rather than do worksheets” and one that will allow them to “make sense of the world through a math lens.”

Osibodu is the winner of the , an honour that recognizes Canada’s emerging education researchers. She’s holding her breath while waiting to see if SSHRC recognizes the importance of her research by approving her grant.

Article written by Elaine Smith was originally published in the March 2022 issue of

The post Using research to assist Black youth appeared first on Faculty of Education.

The Scholars’ Hub events are done in partnership with Vaughan Public Libraries, Markham Public Library and Aurora Public Library, and presented by 91ŃÇÉ« Alumni Engagement. Students, alumni and all members of the community are welcome to attend.

Sept. 23 will feature a talk, titled "Back to School Prep: Strategies to Help Your Kids Succeed in Math and Promote Family Literacy," presented by Associate Professor Tina Rapke and Professor Karen Krasny of 91ŃÇÉ«'s Faculty of Education. The event will be hosted via Zoom and begin at 12 p.m.

Viewers will be introduced to effective strategies for promoting family literacy to support children in their learning as well as preparing them to succeed in math during unprecedented times. They will learn about early predictors of literacy achievement and approaches to literacy and math instruction and gain a greater understanding about how to engage children of all ages in meaningful opportunities for listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing through daily routines and activities. Krasny will discuss traditional print and digital resources including children's and young adult literature. Rapke will speak about the importance of learners' attitudes towards math and what can be done in the home to support mathematics success.

Rapke is a parent of two elementary school children and teaches teachers how to teach math. She spends much of her time in math classrooms researching and writing about best practices.

Krasny is a past president of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies and served on the Board of the Canadian Society for Studies in Education. A longstanding educator, Krasny is a former K to 4 Early Years English Language Arts Provincial Specialist for Manitoba and worked as a K to 12 English and French Language Arts Coordinator for the St. James-Assiniboia School Division and as a teacher for The Winnipeg No. 1 School Division.

For more information, or to register, visit: .

The series will continue on Sept. 30 with a presentation titled "" featuring Professor Bonita Lawrence.

The post Scholars' Hub @ Home series explores back to school strategies for math and literacy appeared first on Faculty of Education.